BIGGER THAN MY SONG
Choral Chameleon Chorus
Top 100 songs re-imagined for classical choir and remixed for dance
This project was originally due to embrace a set of listening installations with dance parties in early May 2020.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we have been forced to suspend rehearsals, performances/dance parties.
The project:
People's loyalties within popular music are starkly divided. Many academic musicians would refer to much or all of pop music as being uninteresting, unsubstantial, non-compelling, or even wasteful.
The pull of this music, however, becomes stronger and stronger every year as a major player influencing generations of people and the choices that they make in their lives.
Ironically, all music, no matter the context in which it’s found, is made of the same stuff: sound and time.
In society's rush toward criticism, we over-congratulate ourselves daily on being able to publicly state that we know what is of high quality and what is not.
Choral Chameleon dismantles this faulty scaffolding by examining a series of familiar and semi-familiar pop songs through a classical music lens. Each song has been deconstructed and re-assembled in a way that makes its musical virtues shine more brightly. Each piece touts the integrity of the idea behind the song itself, the intellect it took to create that song, and the dignity of its artist.
The events we had planned combined a 2-part experience where the audience could move freely between two rooms:
Between January and early March 2020, the Chorus was rehearsing 11 brand-new commissioned arrangements of pop and r&b songs made famous by artists such as:
Our commissioned arrangers are:
Did you know?
We were absolutely LOVING working on this project and are now planning to re-prioritize around the recording aspect of the project so we can ensure that the music gets out into the world, without the immediate limitation of uncertain live event logistics.
Right now, our DJ is ready and able to begin work to create his mixing tracks.
The choir will lay down their acappella arrangements as soon as we are able to gather again.
While we rework the budget to put more emphasis on recording, please consider making a donation to keep momentum going - we are not backing down from our vision to host the world's first choral rave!
This project was originally due to embrace a set of listening installations with dance parties in early May 2020.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we have been forced to suspend rehearsals, performances/dance parties.
The project:
People's loyalties within popular music are starkly divided. Many academic musicians would refer to much or all of pop music as being uninteresting, unsubstantial, non-compelling, or even wasteful.
The pull of this music, however, becomes stronger and stronger every year as a major player influencing generations of people and the choices that they make in their lives.
Ironically, all music, no matter the context in which it’s found, is made of the same stuff: sound and time.
In society's rush toward criticism, we over-congratulate ourselves daily on being able to publicly state that we know what is of high quality and what is not.
Choral Chameleon dismantles this faulty scaffolding by examining a series of familiar and semi-familiar pop songs through a classical music lens. Each song has been deconstructed and re-assembled in a way that makes its musical virtues shine more brightly. Each piece touts the integrity of the idea behind the song itself, the intellect it took to create that song, and the dignity of its artist.
The events we had planned combined a 2-part experience where the audience could move freely between two rooms:
- In the first, an installation-style pre-recorded presentation of purist renderings of the arrangements sung by the choir
- In the other, the audience finds EDM, House, and Trance beat remixes simultaneously presented by our DJ collaborator, the amazing Brandon Wolcott, complete with dance floor and open bar until the wee hours. The first-ever choral music rave!
Between January and early March 2020, the Chorus was rehearsing 11 brand-new commissioned arrangements of pop and r&b songs made famous by artists such as:
- Ariana Grande
- Bee Gees
- Calvin Harris & Rihanna
- Gotye
- Hall & Oates
- Mark Morrison
- Miley Cyrus
- Pharrell
- Thelma Houston
- Tomio Okuda
- Toto
- Zedd ft Alessia Cara
Our commissioned arrangers are:
- David Bloom
- Lauren Bydalek
- Paul Doust
- Douglas Geers
- Assaf Gleizner
- Jared Graveley
- Vince Peterson
- Lydia Pugh
- Zachary Ritter
- Derek Weagle
- Eri Yamamoto
Did you know?
- Six of our arrangers are alumni of the Choral Chameleon Summer Institute for Composers and Conductors
- Four of our arrangers sing with Choral Chameleon
We were absolutely LOVING working on this project and are now planning to re-prioritize around the recording aspect of the project so we can ensure that the music gets out into the world, without the immediate limitation of uncertain live event logistics.
Right now, our DJ is ready and able to begin work to create his mixing tracks.
The choir will lay down their acappella arrangements as soon as we are able to gather again.
While we rework the budget to put more emphasis on recording, please consider making a donation to keep momentum going - we are not backing down from our vision to host the world's first choral rave!